Whether you’re slowly trudging back home from Worthy Farm or still wired from watching every livestream over the weekend, we bid farewell to Glastonbury for two years – sadly not back again until 2027.
On Saturday night, Charli XCX seemingly held a funeral for Brat burning down the tattered lime green flag while headlining the Other Stage. Don’t worry though, Brat will never die. From Charli’s lips to our ears: Brat is forever.
“Brat hair is an attitude,” hairstylist Matt Benns tells GLAMOUR. “It’s erratic texture, curls, length and rawness. Hair that you can whip around in the club.” As a collaborator with Charli XCX throughout the Brat era, including 2025’s Met Gala, Matt shares how the pair mix up the rolodex of changing looks.
“We look at what she’s wearing, where she’s going, what version of Charli she will be,” he says on coming up with the looks. “The texture of hair depends on the occasion – for shows, the curl is a little wilder, bigger, erratic and ready to be thrown around (and sometimes to get wet!).”
For Glasto, amid fire and rain on stage, the hair had to stand out. “For shows, it’s really important that the hair can move,” Matt says. “It’s only Charli on stage, so hairography is so important. The movement of the hair is so impactful, it needs to be impressive.” Adding “inches and inches” – 36 inches to be exact – Charli’s dark glossy waves were created with multiple curling techniques. “I used two different sized curling tongs and a 3-wave curler,” Matt explains. “To achieve volume, I sprayed in a bit of Bumble and bumble Thickening Dryspun Texture Spray and finished with Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Frizz Reducing Hair Oil to smooth the hair but define the waves.”
While Glasto is sadly over, there are still plenty of festivals to look forward to this summer. In preparation, Matt shares his backpack hair essential. “Bumble and bumble Bond-Building Repair Styling Cream is the most versatile product that really nails achieving a perfect light hold without the crunch,” he says. “It’s my must-have at all times.” Smoothing, defrizzing, resulting in effortless waves, we can see why it’s a must-have.
Now that 2025’s summer hair trends have dropped, the hairstylist shares his own easy, achievable look for more inspo. “I love an imperfect half-up,” he says. “Air dry or diffuse the hair keeping texture and natural curls – leave pieces out the front. Take the hair from behind the ear and tie off. If you want a bit of snatch, make sure the tension is tight using a few u-pins to pin the hair in a twist, but leaving it imperfect.”
